Happy Halloween *****WARNING- NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH*******

When our family visited a Holmes County Amish farm open to tourists, several Amish in the community had gathered at the farm to butcher pigs. As we walked over to get a buggy ride, I saw a cat gnawing on something strange. It turned out to be the head of one of the two pigs that were butchered. To see a dozen or so Amish men standing around, cleaning meat, creating sausage and rendering lard was quite a sight. I imagine that my ancestors butchered pigs all the time just to have something to eat and didn't think twice about it. Today, I don't see what goes into the pork chop that I buy at the grocery store. The Amish seemed to be using everything from the pig except the heads, which this cat gladly nibbled from. Happy halloween, and I apologize if this is entirely too gross.

Tom

P.S. Check out my Sky Watch contribution at Tom Arbour Photography.

Back from Amish Country

If you haven't been to Ohio's "Amish Country in and around Holmes County, Ohio, in a while, you might be in for a surprise. It is ridiculously commercialized and full of people. At certain points on Saturday, I thought some giant person had grabbed me up and plopped me down in the middle of an imaginary swiss village that would be found at some place like Disney's Epcot center. Overall, the experience wasn't bad, it actually was quite good. Megan and I had a great time with my parents and brother. I just wasn't ready for the people and the commercialization that has occurred over the past 15 years since I last visited the area.

To follow up on the plant quiz from Friday, the small trailing vine in the photographs was actually cranberries. I'm not sure if they were small or large cranberries-- both species probably at the bog. I ate some of the berries- a little tart but not too bad. A little sugar and they would be ready for the thanksgiving dinner table.

This week I'm participating in the "that's my world meme" over at my new photography blog. This week's contribution is a scenic view of Ohio's Amish country. For my next blog post here at Ohio Nature, I'm going to leave it up to you- Would you like to see an interesting but fairly graphic picture (not for the squeamish) of Amish life, or would you rather see a scenic view?

Tom